(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 12 mag - European shares closed lower as hopes for a swift resolution to the US-Iran conflict continued to fade following comments from US president Donald Trump.

Markets on the continent are retreating after Monday's mostly positive session, with the US president stating that the regional truce is on "life support" and rejecting Tehran's latest counterproposal as "unacceptable." These developments have pushed oil prices higher and renewed investor fears regarding inflationary pressures and the impact of the ongoing deadlock on global economic growth.

On the macroeconomic front, while Germany's ZEW economic sentiment improved more than expected to -10.2 points in May, the current situation assessment worsened.

Meanwhile, Italy reported a 0.7% monthly increase in industrial output for March, with calendar-adjusted production up 1.5% year on year.

On the other side of the Atlantic, US inflation grew at its highest rate in three years heightening concerns that renewed inflationary pressure will prompt the Federal Reserve to put back timelines for lowering interest rates.

The London FTSE 100 closed down 0.04% at 10,265.32 points, the Frankfurt DAX fell 1.62% at 23,961.56 points, the Paris CAC 40 lost 0.98% at 7,977.77 points, while in Milan the FTSE MIB dropped 1.36% at 48,990.98 points, and in Madrid the IBEX.

35 closed 1.65% lower at 17,558.69 points.

(RADIOCOR) 12-05-26 18:16:54 (0634) 5 NNNN